“A controversial gun control law has been deemed constitutional in the Oregon Court of Appeals, effectively lifting the hold on gun safety protections in the state,” Portland’s CBS affiliate KOIN 6 reported Wednesday. “Measure 114, also known as the Reduction of Gun Violence Act, requires that someone must have a permit as well as a completed criminal background check before buying a gun. In order to receive a permit, one must complete a gun safety course and prove that they are not a danger to themselves or others.”

Note the assumption made by the “reporter” that this is about “gun safety protections.” And as outrageously presumptuous and antithetical to “shall not be infringed” that those prior restraints are, the decision made by a three-judge panel does more. Per Oregon Department of Justice Media:

Measure 114 includes three common sense gun safety laws: First, it requires a permit to acquire guns. Permits are available to those who pass a criminal background check, complete a gun safety course, and who are not a danger to themselves or others. Second, it closes the “Charleston Loophole” that currently allows firearm transfers to proceed if a background check takes more than three days. Finally, it restricts magazines that can carry more than ten rounds of ammunition.

And the maximum amount of the poll ta… uh… permit, per amended SB348, is $150.00.

Fighting Measure 114 has been a priority for “gun rights” advocacy groups, with none more invested than Oregon Firearms Federation, which has been following and fighting it and other infringements from their inception. And one of the major threats Oregon’s gun owners face, aside from zealous Democrats who never saw a gun they didn’t want to grab, is unprincipled Republicans who either do nothing or actively help pass disarmament edicts and then lie about it.  In a way, it’s an indicator for what gun owners in other states can expect from previous “A”-raters if it looks like stabbing them in the back is the path of least resistance. We’ve seen such betrayals many times at the local, state, and national levels.

“Oregonians voted for this, and it’s time we move ahead with common-sense safety measures,” Attorney General Dan Rayfield, one of those Democrats who would grab them all if he could, crowed. “Today’s decision is a big step forward for gun safety in Oregon. This measure gives us the tools to make sure gun buyers go through background checks and get proper permits, helping to keep firearms out of the wrong hands and making our communities safer.”

“Challengers [have] 35 days to seek further appellate review of the decision,” Oregon DOJ admits. It’s a sure bet the gun groups are on it and will continue on to federal courts if the state won’t budge. And that’s also an outrage, that gun owners are paying for their abuse via taxes being used to infringe and then have to come up with more out of their own pockets to fight the denial of rights. It’s reminiscent of the “bullet fee” charged by tyrannical regimes to the families of executed prisoners.

If it were other civil rights being violated by a state, precedent has already been established that the U.S. Department of Justice would step in and put a stop to it. Gun owners should demand the same for the Second Amendment from an administration that literally owes its electoral victory to them, and our “gun rights leaders” should be the loudest voices making sure it can’t be ignored.

Also see:

• Read Oregon Firearm’s Federation’s “The Facts Don’t Matter.”

About David Codrea:

David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.